4 yrs on, man absconding in POCSO, IT Act case held

A man, who has been absconding for the past more than four years in a POCSO and IT Act case, was arrested by the Delhi Police Crime Branch from Noida.

The accused, Sumit Kumar (28), had been declared a proclaimed offender (PO) in March 2024 after evading arrest since 2021. The case was registered against him at the Dwarka South police station.

According to the police, the accused had tricked a minor girl through a phishing link sent via Facebook. He allegedly gained access to her social media account and coerced her into sharing obscene photos under threat. He also blackmailed her by sending manipulated images and demanding money.

The police said Kumar was earlier arrested in the same case but jumped bail and went into hiding in his native village in Madhubani, Bihar. Despite repeated attempts, he could not be traced and was later declared a proclaimed offender by the court.

After months of technical surveillance and ground intelligence, the Inter-State Cell of the Crime Branch traced Kumar’s movements to Sector 128, Noida. On November 1, a team laid a trap near a wine shop in Sahpur village, where he was apprehended.

During interrogation, Kumar told the police that he had been living in Noida for the past few months and working as a housekeeping supervisor at a private company. He confessed to extorting money after gaining access to victims’ social media accounts.

Investigators said Kumar was also involved in an earlier case registered at the Malviya Nagar police station for extortion and online sexual exploitation. In that case, he had allegedly contacted several women, claiming that their private photos had been leaked online, and sent phishing links to hack their accounts. He then used their credentials to impersonate and extort them.

The police said further investigation was on to determine if the accused was involved in similar offences or had accomplices.